Nowadays, there are very many game franchises that have yearly installments that do nothing except add a few bells and whistles here and there. And it doesn't just apply to sports games anymore.
For the past three years, there has been a new installment into the Halo and Call of Duty franchises, and Call of Duty plans on releasing Modern Warfare 3 in 2011, continuing the tradition. Now, I'm not trying to pick on Halo and Call of Duty, but they are both extremely popular games, and it seems that the companies behind them just keep pumping out new ones each year. The thing is, people continue to buy them, when they are essentially the same game. They continue to receive high scores from biased critics, and they sell millions on the first day of release, making these corporate game developers and publishers crazy amounts of money, while the little guys put their heart and soul into creating innovative and original titles that sell horribly.
Don't get me wrong, these yearly updated games are well made and highly polished, but I still don't like the fact that they have hijacked an industry that was known for it's creativity, and strayed away from mainstream ideals. These yearly installments obviously put a clamp on the developers' ability to try and come up with something fresh, because they are always in a rush to finish the next game that's due in a few months, and it's not their fault, really. They're just trying to make a living like the rest of us.
I blame the publishers that demand these half-hearted games to be released on a yearly basis, just so they can score more dough.
It also seems these days that if a game sells more than a thousand copies, it simply HAS to have a sequel. Sequels can be great, but there are just some games that stand perfectly fine on their own. There are some games that didn't necessarily sell well, but developed a loyal fanbase that really wanted a sequel, so it was made. For example, No More Heroes for the Wii wasn't exactly a big hit, but loyal Suda51 fans and the Wii's hardcore audience begged for more, and that resulted in the creation of one of my favorite games of all time: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
That's all fine and dandy, but who asked for Kane and Lynch 2? inFamous 2? H.A.W.X. 2? Dynasty Warriors 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6? Yeah, I think you get the picture. Creating a sequel can take out a lot of originality in a game, because the developers don't have to try and create a new world, new characters, etc. They just have to add more weapons and power-ups, write a quick story, and ship it out.
Of course, this isn't always the case. Some of the best games ever have been sequels. But there are many situations where a sequel is made just in a lazy attempt to generate more income, and nothing more.
So, how can developers and publishers change in order to make the gaming industry the best it's ever been? Simply listen to the fans. Don't give us crappy sequels, and give the developers more time to create great games, instead of making them constantly pump out half-hearted yearly updates. Besides, it's our money they depend on for their paychecks. Why not make them actually earn it for once?
